Perth boy found dead in water sparks calls to ban pools at day care centres

Published on: June 16, 2018

Two-year-old Lachlan Mitchell was only left for minutes before he drowned
He was found lying in a pool at a West Australian day care centre dead
Now coroner Sarah Linton is calling for a ban to pools in childcare centres

By Cait Kelly For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 17:13 BST, 16 June 2018 | Updated: 17:16 BST, 16 June 2018

The tragic death of a two-year-old boy has promoted calls to ban swimming pools at family daycare centres.

Lachlan Mitchell, was only left untenanted for seven minutes at his Perth childcare centre before he was found face down in the water on November 9, 2015.

Childcare worker Karla Zablah, who left him alone to try and settle another crying baby when he drowned, was fined $6,500 for failing to ensure he was supervised, Yahoo7 reported.

Two-year-old Lachlan Mitchell (pictured) was only left for minutes before he drowned

Two-year-old Lachlan Mitchell (pictured) was only left for minutes before he drowned

Lachlan's mother Melanie has joined the campaign to ban pools in childcare centres

Lachlan’s mother Melanie has joined the campaign to ban pools in childcare centres

Now, the West Australian coroner is calling on the State Government to ban all pools, spas and ponds at all new family daycare centres.

Coroner Sarah Linton said pools at day care centres created an ‘unacceptable level of risk’.

She is also calling for the 258 family daycare centres that do have pools in them to be banned form caring for children under five.

Lachlan’s mother Melanie has joined the campaign, saying she remembers her boy as a ‘beautiful, caring little guy’ and that no other family should have to suffer what hers did.

‘We could grieve in private or we could do our best to ensure that another family doesn’t have to go through what we went through,’ she said.

Premier Mark McGowan has said the Government is committed to protecting children

Premier Mark McGowan has said the Government is committed to protecting children

She wants to meet with the State Government to talk about changing the laws.

Premier Mark McGowan said the Government was committed to protecting children.

‘We have endorsed the findings of the Coroner’s report, obviously we’ll need to work through the details of how that will be implemented but we want to make sure children are protected,’ he said.